Method and machine for wrapping



Sept. 28, 1965 F. H. PEARSON 3,208,191

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR WRAPPING Filed Feb. 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l p 1965 F. H. PEARSON 3,208,191

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR WRAPPING Filed Feb. 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,208,191 METHOD AND MACHINE FDR WRAPPING Frederick Henry Pearson, Albion Works, Gainsborough, England, assignor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British company Filed Feb. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 256,309 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 24, 1962, 7,306/ 62 4 Claims. (Cl. 5327) This invention relates to machines for wrapping blockshaped articles, i.e., articles having a substantially rectangular cross-section, e.g., packets of cigarettes, blocks of chocolate, batches of wafer-like articles, and other articles of similar shape.

The invention is concerned with wrapping machines of the type in which the articles to be wrapped are forwarded by a conveyor provided with spaced pushing elements which carry the articles successively into engagement with a succession of wrappers fed transversely of the path of the articles, each article with its wrapper being forwarded by the conveyor past folding devices operating to fold each wrapper about its article in such a manner as to form an open-ended pouch which encloses the forward face, the upper and lower faces and the side faces of the articles, and projects at its open end beyond the rear face of the article by an amount sufficient to provide end folds. After the formation of the open pouch, the articles are transferred in succession to further folding mechanism serving to form the end folds.

An object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the above type in which means are provided for facil itating the wrapping of articles in wrappers consisting of two layers of wrapping material.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wrapping machine of the type referred to, wherein the wrappers each consist of two layers of wrapping material the outer layer of which is of a width greater than that of the inner layer, and wherein during the movement of the article and wrapper by the conveyor the outer layer is temporarily restrained from movement to cause relative movement between the two layers in the direction of movement of the articles.

In this manner the inner and outer layers of the wrappers are caused to overlap, a marginal portion of the outer layer trailing behind the rear edge of the inner layer so that, during the formation of the end folds, the trailing portion is caused to make direct contact with the folded leading portion of the outer layer thus allowing the two portions to be sealed together.

Preferably, the outer layer is of heat-sealing material and the sealing operation performed by the application of heat and pressure.

The articles with their wrappers are conveniently fed in succession by the conveyor into a folding channel in which the open-ended pouch is formed, and the relative movement between the two layers is brought about by temporarily seizing the marginal side edges of the outer layer of the wrapper so as to cause the inner layer to move forwardly into overlapping relationship with the outer layer.

The seizing action is conveniently performed by a pair of trapping members the inner one of which is caused to move laterally into the spaces between the portions of the wrapper extending from the upper and lower faces of the article, and the outer one being caused to move downwardly to trap the outer layer of the wrapper on to the inner trapping member. Normally, there will be two pair of trapping members operating one on each side of the folding channel.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing as applied 3,208,191 Patented Sept. 28, 1965 to a machine for wrapping batches of sticks of chewing gum.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of part of such a machine,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1 with part of the upper structure removed,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a detail of the machine, drawn to a somewhat larger scale, and

FIGURES 4, 5, 6 and 7 are a series of diagrams illustrating the operation of part of the machine.

Batches of sticks of chewing gum, hereinafter referred to as articles 11, are forwarded in succession between side guides 12 along a platform 13 by a continuously moving chain conveyor 14 provided with spaced pushing elements 16 which carry the articles 11 successively into engagement with a succession of wrappers consisting of inner and outer layers 17 and 18, respectively, of wrapping material, the outer layer 18 being of heat-sealing material and of a width greater than that of the inner layer 17. The wrappers are fed from a pair of reels (not shown), containing the layers 17 and 18, into the path of the articles 11 by a pair of continuously driven feed rollers 19 and cut in succession into suitable wrapper lengths by a severing device 21.

The articles 11 with their wrappers are fed into a folding channel 22 which folds each wrapper about its article 11 in the form of a U with portions 23 extending beyond the rear face of the article 11 by an amount sufficient to provide end folds, and marginal portions 24 of the outer layer 18 extending from each side of the article 11 by an amount sufiicient to provide side folds. During movement of the articles 11 with their wrappers through the folding channel 22 the marginal portions 24 of the outer layer 18 are each temporarily gripped by a pair of trapping members consisting of an inner member 26, which is caused to move laterally into the space between the portions of the wrapper extending from the upper and lower faces of the article 11, and an outer member 27 which is caused to move downwardly to trap the marginal portion 24 of the outer layer 18 of the wrapper on to the inner member 26 (see FIGURE 5), one pair of trapping members 26, 27 being arranged on each side of the folding channel 22. Such gripping action restrains the outer layer 18 from movement in the direction of movement of the articles 11 to cause relative movement between the two layers 17 and 18. In this manner the inner and outer layers 17 and 18 are caused to overlap, a marginal portion 15 of the outer layer 18 trailing behind the rear upper edge of the inner layer 17 (see FIGURE 6) so that, during the formation of the end folds at a later stage, the trailing marginal portion 15 is caused to make direct contact with the folded leading portion 20 of the outer layer 18 thus allowing the two portions to be sealed together by heat and pressure.

Each inner member 26 is pivotally mounted at 25 and is oscillated into and out of operative position by a rotatable cam 28 secured to a shaft 29 rotatably mounted in the framework 31 of the machine, the cam 28 being arranged in engagement with a roller 32 rotatably mounted on an arm 33 pivotally mounted at 34 in the framework 31. The arm 33 is connected through a link 36, pivoted lever 37 and link 38 to an extension 39 of the inner member 26. Each outer member 27 is formed on an arm 41 secured to a shaft 42 pivotally mounted in bearings 43 formed in the framework 31, the two members 27 being actuated by a cam 44 arranged in engagement with a roller 46 rotatably mounted on an arm 47 secured to the shaft 42, the cam 44 being secured to a shaft 43 rotatably mounted in the framework 31 and driven by gearing 49 from the fed rollers 19.

The inner and outer trapping members 26 and 27 are operated in timed relationship with the movement of the 3 conveyor 14 so that after each article 11 with its wrapper has moved into the folding channel 22 the trapping members 26 and 27 move into gripping position and, after the relative movement of the two layers 17 and 18 of the tending marginal portions 24, the articles 11 then being transferred in succession to further folding and sealing mechanisms (not shown) to complete the end folding and sealing operations.

I claim:

1. In a method for wrapping substantially block shaped objects with a double layered wrapper, the steps of simultaneously cutting adjacent wrapper sheets to a given length, moving an object to be wrapped into the cut wrapper sheets so that they become bent around and carried along by the object, and grasping the outer wrapper sheet along a bent back portion thereof and holding it momentarily so that the continued forward movement of the object will impart a relative displacement in the alignment of the two wrapper sheets in the direction in which the object moves.

2. In a machine for wrapping substantially block shaped articles with a double layered wrapper, conveyor means for moving articles to be wrapped in succession along a given path, wrapper feed means positioned along said conveyor means and operative to feed double layered wrapper material across said path, said wrapper feed means being arranged to cause said feeding to occur in timed relationship with the operation of said conveyor means such that each double layered length of wrapping material is intercepted by the next approaching article and is caused by the forward movement of such article to become bent over it in substantially U-shaped configuration, and trapping means arranged alongside of said conveyor means at a fixed point downstream of said feed means, said trapping means being arranged also to operate momentarily in timed sequence with said conveyor means to trap and hold, at said fixed point, one layer of the double layered material bent about an article being moved along said conveyor, whereby such movement of said article cooperates with the momentary operation of said trapping means to produce a sliding efiect between the layers of wrapping material in the direction of movement of the articles to be wrapped so that there is formed a marginal edge on one layer for sealing of same.

3. A wrapping machine as in claim 2 wherein said trapping means comprises inner and outer trapping members, the inner trapping member being mounted to move in a generally lateral direction into the region between the bent back portion of the wrapper material and the outer trapping member being mounted to move in a generally vertical direction into engagement with said inner trapping member with the outer layer of the bent back portion of said wrapping material trapped therebetween.

4. A wrapping machine as in claim 3 wherein said trapping members are pivotally mounted along said path and are lever actuated in synchronism with said conveyor means and said wrapper feed means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 643,621 2/00 Berger 53-176 FOREIGN PATENTS 781,669 8/57 Great Britain.

FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

BERNARD STICKNEY, Examiner. 

1. IN A METHOD FOR WRAPPING SUBSTANTIALLY SHAPED OBJECTS WITH A DOUBLE LAYERED WRAPPER, THE STEPS OF SIMULTANEOUSLY CUTTING ADJACENT WRAPPER SHEETS TO A GIVEN LENGTH, MOVING AN OBJECT TO BE WRAPPED INTO THE CUT WRAPPER SHEETS SO THAT THEY BECOME BENT AROUND AND CARRIED ALONG BY THE OBJECT, AND GRASPING THE OUTER WRAPPER SHEET ALONG A BENT BACK PORTION THEREOF AND HOLDING IT MOMENTARILY SO THAT THE CONTINUED FORWARD MOVEMENT OF THE OBJECT WILL IMPART A RELATIVE DISPLACEMENT IN THE ALIGNMENT OF THE TWO WRAPPER SHEETS IN THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE OBJECT MOVES. 